Arkansas Traveler

The video above conveys the musical component of this work.  The four prints contain all the musical information needed to play or sing the song.  Melody notes are represented by solid discs, chords by ovals, and tempo by the size of the pupils.  In this song Part A is played twice and Part B is played twice.  The slight variations you see are due to transition notes that start the song or connect the parts. 

Arkansas Traveler, set of four HD metal prints, each print 20 x 20 inches

* The color chart below contains interval numbers and note names/ letters that correspond to the colors of the 7 note diatonic scale 1-2-3-4-5-6-7. Five more colors are added in between to represent the sharps and flats of the 12 note chromatic scale.

Using color to link musical notes, numbers (1-2-3) and letters (A-B-C) is easy to learn because the human brain is already hard wired to make connections between the different senses. Color, sound, number, letter connections are just not well developed in most people (except for people who have Synesthesia). Think about the experience of hearing sounds and seeing imagery "in the real world" or "in your mind's eye." Our brains process the full range of sensory information as a unified, singular experience.

The idea for this new series of work came from the surprising speed in which my brain connected musical notes and interval numbers when I started color coding sheet music and guitar charts. The connections happened so quickly and effortlessly I knew it wasn't "Devorah" thing. It was a "brain" thing. This realization was the inspiration for this new series of art.

Art that Bridges the Universal Languages of Music, Math, and Color

In the time of the Ancient Greeks, music was not seen as an art but rather as a quantitative science that was used as a mathematical and philosophical description of how the universe was perceived to be constructed.